Kay rushed around the end of the
table, galvanized by the plea inherent in her husband's words, there was
no way she would put off responding to him.
She knelt down
beside him, a comforting hand laid tenderly on his shoulder. "Josh?"
Josh moaned again. "'S my
back." He huffed out a breath. "Sorry."
Kay had slipped into
professional mode, her senses measuring his tense posture and the spasms
that wracked his torso. "Can you feel anything in your legs?"
She watched as Josh's
eyes squeezed shut and then opened again. "No."
The sound of other's
reminded her of where they were . . . and who was there with them. Kay
looked away from Josh and noted that Jack squatted on the other side of
her husband. Hovering above them, their faces mirroring their concern
were Daniel Jackson, Sam, and Teal'c.
Kay stood. "It's his
back, sometimes one of his discs slips and he goes down." She wiped her
hands on her pants and turned to Jack. "Could I use your phone to call
an ambulance?"
"Of course, but before
you make that call, could you tell me more about this back problem?"
Kay squatted back down to
talk with her husband. "Josh, can you help us lie you down on the
ground?"
Josh grimaced. "I'll
try." His shoulders shifted, then he sucked in his breath with an
audible whistle. "Nope, can't do it. Sorry."
Kay looked up in time to
see Jack go into what she recognized as full 'I'm in charge here' mode.
"Teal'c, help me get this man onto the ground. Carter, you remember
where I keep my bedding?"
Sam nodded.
"Good, get a couple of
blankets, one to lay down on the ground and another one to cover him. We
don't want him to get chilled when we shift him onto the ground."
"Yes, sir. I'll get right
on it." The female officer smiled and backed away. Soon she returned
with a two blankets. Kay took one and laid it on the ground near her
husband, taking extra care to smooth all the wrinkles out.
Kay watched while Jack
and Murray/Teal'c gently lowered her husband onto the blanket, leaving
him curled on his side. Then, Sam handed her the other blanket, which
Kay tucked around Josh, and patted his cheek.
Jack squatted next to her. "Josh? I need to ask you some questions."
Kay exchanged a worried glance with her husband and shrugged.
Josh nodded, his eyes barely open.
"How long have you had this back problem?"
Kay watched vigilantly as
Josh whispered, even the effort of talking seemed to drain him. "The
Army Docs say it's degenerative arthritis, caused by not dodging enough
bullets and too many years of riding around in choppers. They told me
I'm not a candidate for surgery . . . every once in a while my back goes
out." He sighed. "Never this bad though." Josh's eyes shifted from Kay
back to Jack. "That's why I'm retired and not working . . . why Kay
still works at the prison after . . ." He closed his eyes.
"I guess the job offer is off now," the injured man muttered.
Kay stroked his forehead.
"Shh, don't worry. We'll make it. We always do."
Jack rubbed his chin.
"Hold the phone, guys. Don't give up yet." He settled on the ground,
stretching out his long legs with his arms draped across his knees.
"That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about."
"The job offers still
stands for both of you." Kay opened her mouth to protest and Jack raised
his hand. "Ah, just wait a minute and I'll explain."
Standing sentinel at his
back, Teal'c objected. "Are you certain this is wise, O'Neill?"
Jack directed his gaze up
at his Jaffa friend. "Yep, I'm sure." He smiled with a cat that ate the
canary grin and gestured toward them. "In fact, I had these two checked
out from here to next Tuesday before they came over and even Hammond
agrees that we should do this." Jack's gaze went back to Kay and Josh,
who seemed oblivious to what was going on around them, being so involved
in their own concerns.
Kay cleared her throat to
get their attention. "Jack, 911? I hate to see Josh in such pain. We
really need to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible."
Jack's brown eyes bored
into hers. "With your permission, I'd like to have him transported to my
base on Cheyenne Mountain. We've got access to . . . advanced technology
that might help your husband." He paused. "So, you wanna try it my way?
I think we can fix him up so he could work again."
Kay looked down at her
husband who was curled up on the ground and reached out to brush his
hair away from his forehead. "Josh, what do you think?"
Josh opened his eyes,
moved one arm, and grabbed her hand with one that was white-knuckled.
"Sure, why not? We haven't got that much to lose at this point."
Jack got to his feet.
"Airman? Time to earn your money. Get on the radio and call in a
med-evac chopper. I want Josh flown to the SGC ASAP." He turned to Sam.
"Carter, call the Doc at our Infirmary and let her know that she has a
patient on the way. I want you to go with him. You might need to assist
with your hand thingy."
Hands on her hips, Sam
pursed her lips and looked doubtful. "You sure, sir?"
Jack smiled and waggled
his eyebrows. "Ya think?" He rested a hand on her shoulder. "Yes, I'm
sure, Carter. We need people like these two and it would be a crying
shame if we couldn't help them out."
Lt. Colonel Carter
smiled, one that lighted her eyes. "If you say so, sir. I'll go make the
call." She grasped one of his arms with a hand, before it dropped
away.
Already they could hear
the telltale whop-whop of the helicopter blades, warning all that it was
coming in for a landing. Jack noted with satisfaction that the Airmen
had left to await the incoming chopper at the front on his house, which
left Teal'c to play bodyguard to one aging and cranky general.
He'd noticed the
remaining Airman follow Carter into the house and hoped she'd behave
herself and not give him a piece of her mind. Jack had seen the glare
that Carter had directed the Airman's way and fervently hoped to never
be on the receiving end of one himself. He wouldn't wish that kind of
tongue lashing on anyone.
Kay broke into Jack's inner thoughts. "What now?"
The med-evac chopper will
land in front of my house, then it'll transport your husband to my base
in Cheyenne Mountain."
"Why us, Jack? Why are
you doing this? You don't have to, you know. We're just small potatoes,
nothing special . . . really. What's in it for you?"
Kay chuckled and then sat
down next to her husband after seeing Jack's startled look.
"You're going to get to
ride in a chopper, honey." She smiled tenderly and then grimaced when he
didn't answer. "Josh?"
"Oh, god." Josh muttered between clenched teeth. "It hurts."
Kay patted his extended
hand. "It's all right. The medics are coming now and they'll bring you
something for the pain. You know, the stuff that makes you think you're
flying."
"Good," he breathed. "Make mine a double."
Kay transferred her
attention back to Jack, but her hand never left her husband's. "You
never answered my question."
"You're wrong, you know."
Jack bent over Josh to shield him from any dust.
Kay looked at him sharply. "What?"
"You said that you were
nobody special, just small potatoes." Jack took the time to glance at
Josh and then back at Kay. "You're wrong about that."
Josh's retort sounded
harsh. "How the hell would you know that?"
"I checked you both out
before you even came over here. Did the full background check and
everything. Plus I had the benefit of watching your wife in action at
work . . . under very difficult working conditions, I might add."
"I was just doing my
job." Kay protested and paused, and drew her eyebrows together, before
she continued. "What did you find out when you did the background
check?"
"I found out that you two
are exactly the type of personnel we need on our base." Jack paused to
buy himself time to think.
When he resumed, he spoke
slowly, choosing his words carefully, as if afraid he might scare them
off. "Ours is a special unit. We need personnel who are seasoned and
able to adapt to . . . unusual and sometimes hazardous situations. From
what I've seen of you two, you can do that. Sure, neither of you are
spring chickens anymore, but we need your experience and savvy."
They were interrupted by
the arrival of the medics. Behind them trotted Carter and an Airman
carrying a litter.
Jack listened in as Kay
detailed her husband's medical history to them. He smiled reassuringly
as she met his gaze over her husband's body, while the paramedics began
taking his vitals and radioed them in to a doctor.
Sam appeared at her
shoulder. "I know these guys. They'll take good care of Josh."
Kay gave her a grateful
look. "Thanks. Can I go with him?" She looked apologetic but then firmed
her chin. "I don't want to lose sight of him. I'm afraid if I do . . .
I'll never see him again."
"Sure, you can go with
him in the chopper, in fact the general and I will be going along with
you."
Kay looked relieved. By
now the medics had placed Josh on a backboard and had strapped him into
the litter.
Kay smacked her forehead.
"What am I thinking?" She shook her head. "I swear, if my head weren't
nailed onto my shoulders, I'd forget where it was. I almost forgot to
call our kids. They'll be worried sick when we don't come home on time.
I need to call our babysitter and tell the kids what's going on. And my
purse, I can't forget that either. It's got our ID's and stuff in it.
Where did I put that thing?"
Daniel surprised Kay by
handing her the purse along with her coat. "Already taken care of."
Kay rubbed her face with
one hand as she latched onto her purse and coat with the other. "Thanks.
I don't know how I can ever thank you . . ."
Sam patted her on the
shoulder. "Don't worry about it, you're among friends, even if you don't
know it yet. We're pretty close-knit at our base, kind of like family.
We take care of each other."
"Kay?" Josh's voice sounded weak.
"I'm here, Josh. I'm
going along with you." As the litter began to move, she walked alongside
him and held his hand.
"You'll do anything to catch a ride in a chopper, won't you?" she teased.
"Yeah, right," he winced and squeezed his eyes shut.
A couple of hours later,
Samantha Carter was sitting at the Briefing Room table surrounded by
Daniel, Teal'c and the SGC CMO, Dr. Brightman; as befitted his rank as
head of the SGC, General O'Neill -- her Jack -- sat at the head.
In front of her, steel
shutters blocked the view to the Gate Room. According to their doctor's
exam and test results, Josh and Kay's version of his condition was
correct, degenerative arthritis. A condition that while in and of itself
was not life threatening, the constant pain it caused was debilitating.
With the aid of some high-powered pain medication, he appeared to be
resting comfortably in his bed in the Infirmary, several floors above
them.
To Sam's knowledge, Kay
hadn't left his side since they'd arrived, despite her obvious curiosity
of their surroundings. She'd been asking a lot of questions, though,
ones that Sam had been hard-pressed to avoid answering.
Surprisingly enough,
there was something about the counselor that made her want to give her
more than just a pat answer. For the first time in her life, Sam wanted
to tell the woman her entire life story, everything, with no excuses,
half-truths, or cover-up stories, the whole darn thing. She shook her
head in wonder. That was so unlike her.
She looked up; Dr.
Brightman had finished relaying her findings. Now it was Sam's turn to
give her report.
Jack spoke first, his
voice low and even. "Thank you for your findings, Doctor. What is his
condition right now?"
The slender brown-haired
CMO replied. "The session with Colonel Carter's healing device did help
some, but most of the damage can't be repaired because it was caused
such a long time ago. The disc has slipped back into place but the
previous prognosis was correct. Josh is not a good candidate for
surgery, most of his discs in his lower spine are non-existent, and so
it's only a matter of time before he's in the same condition as before.
I've given him some strong pain medication, it's about all I can do for
him." She paused and looked the general in the eye. "I wish I could tell
you differently. Sorry, sir."
Sam watched her CO's face
for his reaction, but saw no change in the impassive mask he'd donned
since the beginning of the meeting. Then he nibbled the inside of his
mouth before speaking.
"No need to apologize,
Doc. If I didn't trust you to do your absolute best with all your
patients, you wouldn't be here now." He paused and then turned those
brown eyes on Sam. "Carter, what's your opinion?"
Sam took a breath before
beginning. "Sir, I agree with Dr. Brightman. I was able to relieve some
of the swelling around his spine, but most of the damage is so old that
I couldn't help much there . . . no matter how hard I tried." She smiled
and shrugged. "I did clear up his sinus infection though. It was a
pretty bad."
Jack smiled back. "Well,
there's that. What I was wanting though was your opinion on the people
themselves, Carter." He huffed a breath and steepled his fingers. "What
do you think about Kay and Josh joining our happy little band of campers
here at the SGC?"
Sam took a moment to
compose her thoughts, and bit her bottom lip. "I like them, sir. What
surprises me the most, though is that I trust them."
Jack chuckled, a
distraction that threw off Sam's concentration for a moment, until Jack
sobered and waved her to continue.
Jack's eyebrows waggled. "Even Kay?"
"Yes, sir. Especially Kay . . . even though she's a shrink."
Sam looked around the
room and had to smile at the way Daniel's face registered outrage. She
knew he had numerous reasons to distrust that particular profession.
"Wait a minute, Daniel. I
know it sounds weird, but I can't explain it. Every part of me screams
not to trust her, because of what she represents, but I just do.
Something about her tells me it would be okay. I want to tell her the
truth . . . about everything."
Sam ducked her head in embarrassment.
Teal'c spoke, his deep
bass voice resounding in the confines of the room. "I agree with Colonel
Carter's assessment. I too trust her. I have trusted her husband from
our first meeting at the hospital. I would not have allowed O'Neill to
be alone with him otherwise." He cocked his head as if in thought. "They
would be a tremendous asset to the personnel of the SGC and the war
against all false gods."
Daniel pushed his glasses
back up his nose and frowned. "I have to admit that I like them too,
even Kay. I didn't want to, but she won me over in just the short time I
talked to her at the cookout, Jack." He glanced around the table. "It's
a shame about Josh's back, though."
Jack's smirk caught Sam's
attention; from experience she knew he was up to something. "Daniel?"
"Yes, Jack?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Sam hid her mouth with
her hand, not wanting Daniel to see the grin on her face. Teal'c didn't
bother to hide his smile and both eyebrows were meeting his hairline.
Daniel looked baffled. "Me? Forgetting something?"
"Ya think?" Teal'c
answered with a look of innocence. Then he bowed to Jack.
Jack pumped his arm in
the air. "Yes!" Then he rubbed his hands together. "When I told Kay and
Josh that we had access to advanced medical technology, I wasn't just
talking about stuff courtesy of the snakes, kids." He paused and waggled
his eyebrows. "I was talking about a certain other race who happen to
like us, the Asgard."
Silence reigned until Sam broke it. "Can we do that, sir?"
"For crying out loud,
Carter. Give me some credit. Yes, we can do it, and I intend to contact
them as soon as I get the patient's okay. General Hammond has already
given me permission to talk to them about our little gray allies."
Sam ducked her head in
embarrassment. "Carter?" Jack's gaze softened. "I had the same reaction
when I first met Kay in that god forsaken prison. As for Josh, I would
trust him with my life, and I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of
character."
Sam's head came back up
at the sound of his voice. "I would too, and I hardly know him."
"As would I," Teal'c
added, his hands clasped on the tabletop.
"So it's settled, then."
Jack looked around the table and everyone nodded their agreement. "Then
my next step is to talk to Josh and Kay." He turned to Dr. Brightman.
"Doc? How soon can I speak to Josh about this? I want him to be able to
make a decision, but if he's all doped up on happy juice, he won't
remember his name let alone this."
The doctor looked
hesitant and consulted her watch before answering. "He shouldn't be
conscious for several hours yet. I had to up his dose, the first one
didn't do the trick." Jack's eyebrows rose. "He was complaining about
the noisy fan in the ventilation system. He said it needed
adjusting."
Jack laughed. "See? That
settles it. We need this guy here, or rather, Siler needs him." He rose
from the table, prompting Carter to rise also. "I'll meet you all in
about an hour, after I've talked this over with Kay and Josh."
He looked around the table. "Dismissed."
Kay sat at her husband's
bedside deep underground. It was a place unlike any other hospital she'd
seen so far, and she'd been in quite a few. So far the staff had been
great, and they were attentive and seemed to know their stuff.
For the moment, Josh was
sleeping, the lines on his face smooth. She hadn't been able to stop her
laugh of amusement when he'd complained about the noisy fan. That man of
hers was certainly being true to character. He couldn't stand to see
equipment operating at less than optimum efficiency. Too bad that he
couldn't work anymore though.
She looked up when Jack
O'Neill came into the room. She still had trouble with the idea that the
dangerous prisoner she'd talked to so many years ago was now a general,
one who'd taken a personal interest in their welfare. It almost seemed
too good to be true, which set all her alarm bells ringing. Usually
whenever something was too good to be true . . . it was.
Well, she'd just have to
make sure that this general realized that he wasn't talking to a couple
of kids fresh off the farm.
Jack cleared his throat. "How is he?"
"Still asleep, at least he isn't in any pain."
Kay watched as he snagged
a nearby chair and sat down. "I just talked the our Doc. She confirms
what you told us."
Kay bit her lip and
looked at her hands clasped together on her lap. "So much for your
advanced medical technology. I should have known better than to hope for
anything different."
"Who says we're finished?" Kay looked up in surprise at his words.
"What do you mean?" she
narrowed her eyes. "Don't you dare give us false hope, Mr. high and
mighty General O'Neill." She stood, anger written on her face. "The
worst thing you can do right now is give us sugar-coated lies. If you
can't do anything more, just tell me. Just don't give us false hope. We
don't want your lies or charity. Josh doesn't deserve that . . . and
neither do I."
Then she crumpled to her
seat, lip trembling as she wiped at the tears in her eyes. Jack reached
out a hand to her.
Kay growled a warning.
"Don't touch me! I'm mad right now." She sniffed and wiped her nose with
the back of her hand. "I thought I could trust you."
Jack's hand stopped
midway then jerked upward. "All right. I won't touch you, but I'm not
lying. Honest."
"What do you mean? Sam
tried that glowing thing, but it didn't work. And your doctor's test
results all said the same thing."
Jack handed her a
Kleenex. "Look Kay. I really do want both of you to work here. You are
right about what the doctor said, she told me the same thing. But I want
to call in another . . . consultant; I needed to check with both of you
first. You see, he has to come quite a distance, and we don't call him
in for just anything."
Kay blew her nose and
then looked at him through narrowed eyes, then wadded the crumpled
tissue in her hands. "What's going on here, General O'Neill? As Josh
would say, something's fishy here, and it ain't the food. So spill it,
mister."
Jack squirmed in his
chair, looking like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Josh
chose that moment to moan.
Kay caught the movement
from her husband's fluttering eyelids out of the corner of her eye. At
the same time, the towering man-mountain, Teal'c/Murray came into the
room. Suddenly their private room was beginning to have all
ambiance of Grand Central Station, Kay thought with an exasperated look
at Jack.
"Kay?" Josh whispered.
With a parting look that
promised that their discussion was far from over, Kay leaned over her
husband. "I'm here, Josh."
"What's yelling 'bout?" he muttered.
Kay smoothed Josh's hair
away from his forehead. "It's all right, hon. Just getting some things
settled. That's all."
He blinked his eyes and
squinted. "Between your yakking and that damned fan, can't get any sleep
around here."
Kay smothered a chuckle.
"You must be feeling better if you're complaining about the fans
already." Josh opened his mouth to comment and Kay held up an
admonishing finger. "No, you may not climb up there to fix it, Mr.
Joshua Dow. You do and I'll break both your legs."
Josh rolled his eyes, but
remained silent. In the meantime, Jack had scooted his chair closer to
the bed.
"You up for some questions, Josh?"
Kay and her husband
exchanged glances. "Sure," Josh answered.
"Our Doc gave us the same
verdict as the ones you saw, so I would like to call in a special
consultant. We don't use him often, but he's the best."
Josh raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
Jack's eyebrows rose to the challenge. "What?"
"Why are you doing this for us?"
Jack spread his hands. "Because we need people like you and your Kay h
ere at the base, that's why."
Kay broke in, laying a
hand on his shoulder to get her husband's attention. "He told me that he
wants us to work here, that they need our experience and savvy. He's
been up front with me so far, I'd like to see what he has to offer." She
shrugged. "It's not as if we have a whole bunch of other offers, Josh."
She lowered her eyes to his. "What do we have to lose at this point?"
Josh sighed and seemed to
shrink in stature before her eyes. "Sure, why not?"
Jack broke into a grin
and rose from his chair. "That's great. I'll send Walter around with
some paperwork to sign. We're a top-secret facility so you'll have to
sign the usual forms. In the meantime, I'll contact Ernie."
Kay looked startled. "Ernie?"
Jack paused on his way
out the door. "Our medical consultant. I'm warning you though, he's a
bit . . . different."
Josh shook his head. "I
don't care if he's rootin'-tootin' orange and three feet tall with
bug-eyes as long as he can get me working again. A man ain't worth
nothin' if he can't work."
Teal'c smiled and bowed. "Indeed."
Jack covered his mouth
and coughed violently. "Um, he's not exactly orange, but you hit the
nail on the head with the rest of your description, Josh."
Kay looked and Josh, his
mouth was hanging open and she suspected that hers was too.
"What?" Kay and Josh asked in unison.
Jack waved his hand.
"Sorry, it would take too long to explain. I've got a call to make."
Teal'c followed closely behind as Jack left the room.
Kay's gaze swept the room
and then lit back on her husband. He looked tired. "Now, get some rest,
hon. I'll keep watch for any weird-looking doctors for you." She
smoothed his forehead with one hand and smiled tenderly.
"Okay, guess I am tired."
His eyes closed, then opened again. "You promise to wake me if you need
some help?"
Kay rolled her eyes and
folded her arms across her chest. "Yes, I promise. Now get some rest."
An hour later, a nurse
awakened Kay. She'd drifted off to sleep with her head laid on the bed
by her husband. The nurse smiled and went about taking Josh's vitals as
if she'd seen this type of scene reenacted before.
On the bedside table was
a folder that Walter had brought by earlier. She picked it up to peruse
its contents in puzzlement. Much of what was inside concerned itself
with having access to top-secret information and the penalties of
divulging it. She was familiar with this sort of thing, having had
contact with it during her time in the military. She'd read it over and
signed it; and didn't anticipate her husband doing any different.
A noise at the door
caused her to look toward it. When Jack's smiling face appeared there,
she relaxed and waved the paperwork.
"Got mine all signed. I'm
waiting for Josh to wake up so he can sign it too."
Jack stuck his hands in
his pockets and sauntered into the room. "Ernie's on his way, and should
be here at any time." He consulted his watch and tapped it. "Yep, any
time now."
Teal'c appeared behind
him, and bowed to Kay. Meanwhile, the nurse left the room, but Kay
thought she looked nervous.
A sudden buzzing noise
and a bright flash of light caught Kay in the middle of a question. When
the black spots cleared from her vision, she looked about her. Nothing
had changed. Jack was still standing at the foot of the bed and
Teal'c/Murray was beside him. Her gaze continued around the room, then
stopped.
Standing next to Jack was
a - what? A bug-eyed, little gray Roswell refugee from a low-budget
science fiction movie and he . . . no it . . . was butt-naked!
Her hand reached out to
shake her husband awake. "Josh?" she whispered, never taking her eyes
off whatever it was.
Jack smiled and held out
his hand. "Ernie? I'd like you to meet Kay and her husband, Josh.
They're joining us here at the SGC."
Kay watched in amazement
as the alien thing bounced toward her and extended its hand.
"Nice to meetcha, Kay."
Ernie said. Kay grasped his hand and shook it.
Kay blinked. "Um, sure. I
think?" She dropped the hand; a part of her noted that it had felt soft
and warm. "Jack?"
General O'Neill smiled as
he leaned against the footboard of the bed. "It's easier to explain
after you've seen him. Ernie is from a race of aliens called the Asgard.
He's a good guy and a great doctor. I should know, he's put me back
together way too many times for comfort."
Kay stuttered. "Oh, that
certainly explains your earlier coughing fit." She got up and circled
Ernie, who remained in place, bouncing in slow motion. Once she made the
full circuit, she reached out a tentative hand to touch his head.
"You feel soft, not like
I thought you would." She withdrew her hand and rubbed her fingers
together, then sniffed them. "You don't mind that I touched you, do
you?"
Ernie blinked. "Nope, why
should I?" He cocked his head. "Jack O'Neill says you're a shrink and
that you'll be digging around inside their heads."
Kay smiled. "Yes, you
might say that, if they'll have me, that is."
Jack stood upright and
rubbed his hands together. "Are you kidding? We need you here, Kay.
Haven't you figured that out yet?" He reached down to shake Josh's foot,
and then dodged the kick that had been aimed at him.
Kay shook her head, then
spoke loudly. "Josh, wake up. Your, umm, doctor is here and I think you
need to see this for yourself." Then she turned to Jack. "Don't you know
better than to touch a combat vet who's asleep? Jeez, Jack," she
muttered.
Josh blinked sleepy eyes
at his wife, then rubbed them when he looked beyond her. In spite of his
obvious pain, he struggled to sit up and grabbed at his wife. "Kay! Look
out!"
Kay wrapped her fingers
around his hands and pried them off her shoulder. "It's okay, Josh. His
name is Ernie. Jack says he's an alien but one of the good guys."
"What?" Josh looked at Ernie, who looked back at him.
Ernie bounced. "I'm Ernie."
Jack walked over to stand
next to Ernie, a hand on his shoulder. "Remember when you said you
didn't believe in little green men, Josh?" Josh nodded, a dumb-struck
look on his face. "I'd like you to meet our version of that, only he's
gray, not green. He's a great Doc and would love to shake your hand." He
patted his shoulder like a proud father. "He's learning our customs and
has made quite a study of it."
Ernie bounced closer to
the bed, and squeezed between Kay's chair and the table. Then he
extended his hand. Kay nodded encouragement, so Josh grasped it in
his.
"Nice to meetcha, Josh."
Ernie said solemnly. "I've already looked over the preliminary test
results, primitive though they might be and I'd like to tell you now
that we dealt with such things as arthritis and other bone disorders
many millennia ago. It will be quite a coup for me to treat a case such
as yours." Ernie looked with enthusiasm at his newest patient. "Now,
how's about I get on with my examination? If I'm going to fix him up,
I'll need to check him out first. " He turned to Jack and Murray and
flapped his hands at them. "Now shoo, I don't need you two here."
Then Ernie turned to Kay,
his black eyes glittering with excitement. "You can stay. We'll talk
shop together as I have many questions to ask about the human psyche
especially where it concerns sexual mating habits."
Kay put her hand to her
lips to smother a cough, her mind reeling. She exchanged amused glances
with her husband who rolled his eyes.
'I can tell I'm going
to love working here, naked aliens and all. God, what a challenge it's
going to be . . . and I can hardly wait to start figuring it all
out.'
The End
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